Michael Swickard's new novel about New Mexico

From KOB-TV.com - Two New Mexico State Police officers are facing felony criminal charges in separate incidents that have the governor sounding off about conduct of law enforcement officers. David Sherman patrols the Gallup area and was arrested by Laguna Tribal Police over the weekend charged with DWI, Reckless Driving, and Tampering with Evidence. Sherman’s arrest comes one week after Department of Public Safety Special Investigations Officer Tim Carlson was arrested by Albuquerque Police charged with forcing prostitutes to have sex with him. "It's unacceptable for a law enforcer to become a law breaker," Gov. Susana Martinez said. Martinez is ultimately in charge of the New Mexico State Police Department appointing both a cabinet secretary and police chief to maintain order amongst the ranks. Read more

From Capitol Report New Mexico - Thom Cole of the Albuquerque Journalwrote a column back on Saturday (March 10) about former Gov. Bill Richardson accepting payment to give speeches supporting an Iranian group that the US State Department lists as a foreign terrorist operation. It’s a complicated story and as Cole points out, Richardson is not the only well-known political figure who has reportedly accepted money from supporters of the Iranian group — in fact, Republican officials such as former Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge have spoken on behalf of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK). Since I do the research so you don’t have to, here’s the deal: Who are these MEK guys? They’re a group that’s lined up against the theocratic government in Iran. That’s good. But they’ve been accused of targeting and assassinating targets inside Iran back in the 1980s. In 1997, President Clinton put the MEK on the US terror list in a move aimed at improving relations with Iran. And the MEK has remained on that list since then. But there’s been a movement to get MEK off the list, since the group says it has not taken part in violence in 20 years, shares a common desire with the US in seeing the current government in Iran replaced and its supporters say MEK has helped gather counter-intelligence against Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The European Union took MEK off its terror list in 2009. On top of that, there’s the status of some 3,400 people associated with MEK who fled Iran and are now refugees in neighboring Iraq to consider. Read more

From the American Thinker - ByAnthony J.Ciani - One of the greatest failings in leftist thinking stems from the mistaken belief that societies can be easily manipulated. President Obama's adopted energy policy makes for a wonderful example of this failure in thought. The entirety of "green energy" is filled with micro-thinking, where a cursory (at best) understanding of technology and engineering has combined with narrowed visions and worldly ignorance to create "energy solutions" which fail in technological readiness, suitability to purpose, or market support. The failure of "green" becomes readily evident with one simple statement of fact: most "green" technologies are well over 100 years old, and there has been no significant scientific achievement in these technologies for approximately 30 years. With the possible exceptions of photovoltaics and batteries, the "green" technologies are all mature. For a mature technology to have little market presence or demand is highly indicative that it fails the cost-benefit analysis of its potential consumer. If the various "green" technologies provided desirable benefits at appropriate price points, then they would be booming, without massive government subsidies or dictates. Read more

Capitol Report New Mexico - It may be a long shot, and he’ll have to gather signatures on ballot petitions, but Harry Montoya told Capitol Report New Mexico he’s going ahead with his primary challenge of fellow Democrat Ben Ray Luján. “A lot of people talk about it, they whisper about it, but they say it out loud that we have a lot of issues in terms of the corruption, the pay to play scandals, the back room business deals that line the pockets of the Democratic Party elite,” Montoya said this past Saturday (March 10) at the state Democratic Party pre-primary convention in Albuquerque. Luján has served for the last four years in the US House of Representatives in the Third Congressional District that makes up the northern part of New Mexico and is the son of outgoing Speaker of the HouseBen Luján. Montoya, who describes himself as a pro-life Democrat, is a former two-term commissioner in Santa Fe County who says Rep. Luján is part of an established political order that needs to be thrown out. Read More News New Mexico

Harry Montoya carries on in challenge to Ben Ray Lujan and “the Democratic Party elite”

We are all squawking about high gasoline prices, but there is an energy misdirection going on. Sabre rattling by Iran has security specialists sitting on the edge of their seats and speculators seeing the resulting reduced-fuel future. Short of a quick military strike that would squelch Iran’s threats, there is little that America can do to stem the rise of the global commodity costs—though history tells us an announcement of increased drilling in the US would have a positive impact.
While we are all looking at gas prices, there is another dramatic energy price increase going on that is totally optional; one that is within the President’s power to completely reverse.
Coal-fueled electricity generation is the lowest cost. Yet, due to cost-increasing regulations, coal-fueled power plants are being shut down at an alarming rate—killing jobs, raising rates, and putting the reliability of the electrical grid at risk.

Environmental groups are cheering, while local governments are left to grapple with the lost tax revenue. On February 29, Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, penned a post celebrating the 100th closure of a coal-fueled power plant: Chicago’s Crawford plant. He also boasts that the group’s efforts have prevented 166 new coal-fueled power plants.

The closure of two units at the Salem Harbor Station in Massachusetts could halve the plant’s workforce. Salem Harbor Station is also the city’s biggest taxpayer. Mayor Kim Driscoll addressed the problem of the loss of the $4.75 million tax bill: “It's a big chunk of change when you're looking at we still have the same number of kids in school, we still have the same number of calls for police and fire, we have the same number of parks and resources that need to be maintained and kept up.” Read rest of column here: News New Mexico

KOB TV - When former Gov. Bill Richardson left office he told New Mexicans he was looking forward to visiting baseball parks across the United States. Instead, the former pitcher has been traveling around the world earning speaking fees. Eyewitness News has learned some of Richardson’s fees were paid by people associated with an Iranian dissident group listed on the U.S. State Department’s list of known terrorist groups.
In addition to paying the former governor, the Mojahedin-e Khalq, also named MEK, has been spending millions to have Richardson and other diplomats, politicians and even former U.S. military generals use their influence to help them get de-listed.

In December 2011, Richardson, the former U.N. Ambassador, told the National Resistance Council in Paris, France that there is increasing international and bipartisan support for the group.
KOB found the video from Richardson's speech in Paris on YouTube.
Last year, the New York Times and Christian Science Montior both reported that at least 33 other high-ranking former U.S. officials have given speeches to MEK-friendly audiences since December of last year as part of more than 22 events in Washington, Brussels, London, Paris and Berlin.
While not every speaker accepted payment, MEK-affiliated groups have spent millions of dollars on speaking fees, according to interviews with the former officials, organizers. Richardon is represented by the Washington Speakers’ Bureau and reportedly earns between $25,000 and $50,000 a speech. Read full story here: News New Mexico

(Albuquerque) The Rio Grande Foundation’s central mission is to analyze the significance of and promote the adoption of economic freedom. Reams of data and human experience accumulated over hundreds of years have shown us that economic freedom promotes wealth, human well-being, and happiness.
The best study of economic freedom at the state level is undertaken on an annual basis by the Fraser Institute, a Canada-based free market think tank that produces an annual report called “Economic Freedom of North America.”
What is economic freedom? The Fraser Institute’s report analyzes 10 components for the United States and Canada in three areas: 1. Size of Government; 2. Takings and Discriminatory Taxation; and 3. Labor Market Freedom. States shown in red on the adjacent map which is also the cover of the Fraser Institute’s report – a group that includes New Mexico – are in the lowest quintile in terms of economic freedom. Read the report here.
To spur discussion of economic freedom and explore ways in which New Mexico policymakers can make policy changes to move us in the right direction, the Rio Grande Foundation is hosting an evening with Nathan Ashby, the lead author of the Fraser Institute report. When: March 28, 2012 from 5pm to 6:30pm;

Dr. Nathan Ashby

Where: St. Paul’s United Methodist Church which is located at: 225 West Griggs Avenue, Las Cruces; What: Presentation of findings and discussion of economic freedom. Beverages will be provided. Cost is $5 payable at the door.

Dr. Ashby obtained his B.A. in economics with a minor in Spanish at Utah State University and went on to receive his M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from West Virginia University. His fields of specialization are public economics and international economics. He joined UTEP and the College of Business Administration as an Assistant Professor of economics in 2007. He currently holds the Western Hemispheric Trade Research Professorship. He has published articles in the Southern Economic Journal, Public Choice Journal, and Eastern Economic Journal. His published research focuses on the impact of economic freedom on migration, inequality, and other economic outcomes. Having lived in Mexico for a period of time, Dr. Ashby speaks fluent Spanish.

Economic Freedom Conference to be Held in Las Cruces on the 28th of March